


ain't no other man on the planet does what you do

by faith_girl222 (faithgirl)



Category: Hockey RPF
Genre: 2006-2007 NHL Season, Dating, First Time, Fluff, Getting Together, Implied/Referenced Homophobia, M/M, Minor Injuries, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-06-29
Updated: 2017-06-29
Packaged: 2018-11-18 21:28:30
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,543
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11299194
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/faithgirl/pseuds/faith_girl222
Summary: Interviewer: How easy is he to talk to? Are you friends or is your relationship strictly professional?Malkin: We are friends. We live near each other. He helped me a lot during my first few years in Pittsburgh. He showed me around every day. You could call him at any time and he would pick up the phone.





	ain't no other man on the planet does what you do

**Author's Note:**

  * For [sevenfists](https://archiveofourown.org/users/sevenfists/gifts).



During a lull on team media day, Zhenya hears from across the room: "You bag of milk!" Sid is yelling at Talbo and giggling to himself while Talbo shoves him in the shoulder. It's possible the Great and Talented Sidney Crosby is a huge fucking dork and Zhenya somehow missed this when Canada was beating them in North Dakota. 

"Your chirps are _terrible_ ," Zhenya says in Russian later, when they're standing around together waiting to do a segment for PensTV. He can understand enough to tell Sid sucks at this but he doesn't feel fluent enough to be sure he can say that to Sid and have it sound like he means it to. Thank fuck Gonch has to be here for the interview. He makes a big show of rolling his eyes before he relays this, but Sid just smiles brightly and _laughs_ like this is the best thing he's ever heard. He doesn't stop laughing until he's gripping Zhenya's shoulder in support.

"I know, I know they are," Sid finally gets out. He's so close Zhenya can smell his soap. He sways even closer. "You looked so concerned!" Zhenya can't stop staring at Sid's flushed face, fresh sweat shining in his collarbones. 

The first couple of weeks he saw Sid a lot without having to try, because every day he had to do something: sign papers, take pictures, meet with management about his Russian club, get his gear, do team media day and training camp. But after he hurts his shoulder in the first fucking _pre-season_ game, fuck his entire life, he's looking at several days with nothing to do, and no built-in excuse to see Sid. So Zhenya calls him, and Sid always answers. Sid gives him by blow-by-blow commentary about how the pre-season games are going, about where he thinks Zhenya will fit once he's back. Zhenya practices his English: asks Sid to take him shopping; to help him pick out shoes; what park he can take Natalie to; what brand of shampoo of the 12 million American options should he use; if he wants to get flowers for Ksenia to say thank you where would Sid buy them from. 

Sid takes him to buy a Playstation, but grumbles all the way to the mall,"You should just wait until November when the PS3 comes out." Zhenya calls him, and Sid comes over and plays, with one arm behind his back because, "I want to win for real." The pre-season winds down, and Zhenya is in and out of the rink multiple days a week seeing trainers and doing PT, but he keeps calling and Sid keeps answering. When Zhenya is finally back in the line up, when he's made his NHL debut and scored his first NHL goal, when he's nearly taken Sid off his feet hugging for the first time, when Sid has agreed to walk out onto the ice with Zhenya at his back, when the team has started calling him Geno—

After any practice, or morning skate, or a game, if Geno asks him, "Food?" Sid always says yes. Geno says _Mambo Italia_ or _Wingharts_ or _Slippery Mermaid Sushi_ or _Primanti's_ , and once even _juice bar with stupid name_ , and Sid takes them there. 

The first time, Sid pays and says, "Reebok," with a glare when Geno tries to protest. The second time, Geno pays and says, "Date," with a smile when Sid reaches for the bill. It makes Sid blush and duck his head. Sid drives Geno home after, and walks him to the door. The first time it's 12:30 in the afternoon, and no one is home at the Gonchars'. Sid kisses Geno goodbye on his doorstep, like they're living in an American film about teenagers in the 1950s. Geno watches him walk back down the long driveway. It's a good view. Sid turns to wave at him, but Geno draws a circle with one fingers and Sid turns back around, laughing, and finishes the walk with a more exaggerated gate. He hopes Sid is hard in his jeans, but if it's just for Geno's benefit that's good too. The second time it's still dinnertime and Natalie bursts out of the front door before they even reach it. There's no kiss, but Natalie makes Sid come inside with them, which is fair enough trade.

The third time, they go to some fancy steak place whose name Geno didn't notice. He's a growing hockey player and never says no to steak, and Sid loves them, but it still feels ostentatiously fancy. Good-thing-we-just-came-from-a-game-and-are-wearing-suits fancy. Sid stammers when he orders for them, and the table is so small Geno's knee is wedged between Sid's thighs. 

"Food is good," Geno tells him, but isn't really paying attention. He can't stop looking at Sid. He tries; they're in public, and everything about this is screaming romance at full volume, and the plausible deniability of going out of after a game where suits were mandatory is only going to get them so far. He can't go back to Russia if he gets into trouble being queer in _Pittsburgh_. There's a fucking _TV show_ about guys being queer in Pittsburgh.

Sid alternates looking at Geno and looking at his food (which Geno knows, because he cannot in fact actually stop looking at Sid long enough to even look at this own food—he's lucky he doesn't cut off a finger). Geno has never been more grateful for how quickly hockey players can put away a meal. In the Sid's car, Geno leans across the console to kiss him. The windows are tinted, it's fine. Sid kisses him back, then pulls away, clicking Geno's seatbelt into place. "Safety first," he breathes against Geno's cheek. He's breathless and his lips are swollen, and if Geno thought he'd want to look at Sid less once they were outside the restaurant, he was very, very wrong.

Sidney takes them back to Mario's this time, and they go into the guesthouse through the mudroom. Geno's hands are on him before they're fully through the door, and they trip up the stairs together. Sid smiles against Geno's mouth. On the bed, Sid pulls Geno's slacks and briefs off, pushes his shirt up his chest, and goes down on his hardening cock. Geno didn't think they really existed, but it's a terrible blowjob: Sid still can't stop smiling, and there are just too many teeth. He pulls Sid off and up the bed. Sid hides his smile against Geno's throat as they struggle out of the rest of their clothes. 

Geno rolls him over. He rubs his cock between Sid's thighs, watching the foreskin slide up and down the shaft. Sid flexes his ass, and gasps when Geno's cock drags over his hole. Geno tugs on Sid's cock, clumsy with his left hand, but Sid doesn't care, just keens and throws his head back against Geno's shoulder when he comes. Geno comes between Sid's legs, and decides that as the one not covered in come, it's his turn to get a wet cloth. 

He stumbles in the dark to Sid's bathroom, but Sid follows him. Geno wipes him down carefully, and when he turn to rinse the cloth Sid wraps his arms around Geno and pushes his face into the space between his shoulder blades. They stand in the darkness until eventually Sid says, "Let's go to bed." 

The next day is an off day, and a weekend day on top of that, so they laze around upstairs until it's a reasonable time for Geno to be there, and then they go downstairs to play Mario Kart with the kids.

***

On off days, Sid starts calling him: to buy ice cream (Geno is outraged to discover Pittsburgh doesn't have a Baskin Robbins), to see a movie, to go to a football game, to come over and hang out with the Lemieux kids.

On the road, they do things with the team most of the time. Coach was clear that road trips are teambuilding time. Sid might not have the C yet, but that trajectory seems inevitable, so naturally he takes teambuilding very seriously, even when Geno begs off to stay in his hotel room. His English is improving, but it still gets overwhelming and frustrating, and after a game is often a good time to talk to someone back home. When the guys get back, Sid knocks on his door to say goodnight. Talbo shoves past Sid into the room, but Sid just smiles at Geno.

***

It makes Sidney upset when questions from reporters even _imply_ negative things about Geno: he's lazy, he's uncommitted, he doesn't deserve to be here. He appreciates the way Sid shuts that shit down, won't even entertain it as a premise. 

"But I'm lazy" Geno freely admits to Sid, with a shrug - his heart is just not in dry land training, but it doesn't need to be. He does fine without taking it as seriously as Sid does. He's only here because Sid is here, working out in his free time like some kind of masochist.

"People say I'm talented, but—"

"Only one butt Sid," and Geno loves that he's at the point where he can make puns and make Sid blush.

"Seriously though, I'm not like you. If I stopped working this hard, I have literally no idea what would happen. I've always worked this hard—I might turn out to be zero percent talent and 100 percent skill."

Geno sticks his tongue out at Sid. "Know one thing you have practice to be good." He raises his eyebrows and Sid's flush disappears below his collar.

"You really are so talented though—I can see that every time you step onto the ice. It's like the other team is standing still." They're alone in Mario's basement, but Sid still looks around the room suspiciously before moving closer, his eyes hot. "It looks effortless, and I'm sure it isn't, but the effort is happening on the ice, not," Sid waves his hand around the weight room.

"You like how I'm skate," Geno says slowly. Sid is completely in his space, his dick pressed against Geno's hip, and somehow he manages to blush even more at this, a dark ugly red spreading up to his ears. It's delightful, and Geno wants to bite them. So he does, but he does make himself wait until they've gone up to the guesthouse.

***

In January, Geno gets kicked out of team strength and conditioning training because he's distracting Sid. On the ice his competitive spirit is enough to keep them both on track, as hot as Sid apparently finds his skating, goal-scoring, general existence; but off the ice Geno can't stop muttering transparently dirty hockey euphemisms to Sid, who blushes and giggles _so_ cutely no matter how many times he does it. Flower keeps dragging Sid away, but they keep ending up at the same station, next to each other in the next exercise. 

And Zhenya just doesn't care enough to be focused on what Kadar is telling them to do; he isn't going to lose his place on the team, or get benched, over it, just like he never gets in trouble for being late. He's too good, and they all know it. Geno thinks Sid is too, but Sid is always going to take this part more seriously than it deserves, always going to think he needs it.

Kadar ends up kicking Sid out too, when Geno has been lingering in the change room for ten minutes. "You too, Sid?" Geno's asks, his smile sly; there's only one real solution to a problem like this, and he'd bet Kadar knew it. Sid shoves a dirty towel into Geno's face, and they leave the Iceoplex together.

***

Taylor comes to stay with the Lemieuxes' during her spring break, to see Sid play against Montreal for her eleventh birthday. It's a nice week for Geno, right up until Sid comes off the ice during the first period and tells Geno his foot hurts. He's alarmingly casual about it, practically shrugging it off before going out on his next shift.

Sid is first down the tunnel at intermission, but Geno is first off the bench, shoving past everyone to follow him. He finds Sid in the trainer's room, his foot up on the table with an ice pack duct taped around it.

"It's fine," Sid says before Geno can open his mouth. "I can still play on it." Geno just glares, patting his ankle above the duct tape. "Really, the trainer said so." Sid looks earnestly up at him, sweaty curls falling into his eyes.

"Move," Geno says, shoving Sid over so he can sit next to him on the table, backs against the wall. He puts his arm around Sid as carefully as possible, no one needs Sid bumping himself on the wall, but Sid melts back into it, and Geno's breath catches. "Not defenseman, don't need to block shot with feet," he says quietly. There's no one in sight in the hall, so Geno presses his face into Sid's hair.

After two goals in the first, they can't get the second to go their way, letting Montreal cut their lead and equalize before the period is over. Sid spends the second intermission with another ice pack taped to his foot, and the third is much better. Geno helps Erik break the tie a few minutes in, and Robs gets them up one less than a minute later. Rex takes a penalty and Montreal cuts their lead again. Geno is able to find Ouellet and then there's no coming back for Montreal. They pull their goalie, and Sid gets an empty netter.

The trainers bundle Sid up with more ice and anti-inflammatories, and Mario takes him home with Taylor and the rest of the kids. Geno considers heading back with them, but it's Taylor's birthday and her big brother has a broken foot, so he gives them some space.

People don't know about Sid's foot, so he's going to play on it, and they aren't going to let their opponents know there's anything to know. Geno is surprised he doesn't get a million penalties in the next game, because he feels himself flying off the handle every time someone comes near Sid's foot. If he isn't careful, he's going to be the one spilling the beans. They win in the shoot out, but their next two games suck, with one goal each and no points for the team. Flying made Sid's foot worse, and in the game against the Islanders he gets into a tussle with Witt. Their next game it at home, and it's a win, but it's also Sid's third game in a row with no points. But the next game is a blowout, 5 goals and a shutout for Flower. Geno opens up scoring half way through the first with a power play goal, and Sid follows with another when they go on the power play again just a few minutes later. Sid has a 3 point night, and after the media clear out, they’re the only two left in the room, and Sid is still sitting half in his gear.

"Tired? 3 points too much work?" Geno knows perfectly well it isn't, because Sid doesn't understand how to classify work as "too much."

Sid laughs. Geno collapses onto the bench next to him. "Foot hurt?" he asks more quietly.

"Nope," Sid says, and leans against Geno. He looks blissed out in that way he always does after a hard satisfying game where they win. There's only one way Geno has seen him look more hazy with pleasure.

"Stay here until next game? Not let Dana clean gear?" He hopes he isn't giving Sid an idea, but the image is too funny, and he giggles into Sid's shoulder.

"Nathalie will worry. And how would I get to the airport?" Sid is silent for a long moment. "Would they even let me through security in my gear?"

"No," Geno says mournfully. "Knives on feet, Sid."

Sid giggles down at his skates. The left one doesn't look any different. On impulse Geno kneels down and unlaces it, suddenly needing to check there really is padding in there keeping it safe. He carefully loosens the tongue and slides the boot off. 

The padding is thin, and under Sid's sock the foot is wrapped in kin tape. Geno cradles it, and it strikes him how small and vulnerable it looks in his hand. As short as he is, Sid rarely seems small or physically vulnerable to Geno.

Sid's breath catches. He's red in splotches across his cheek and neck.

"Geno," Sid says lowly.

Geno kisses his instep, a soft brush where his foot is still bruised from the break. He unlaces Sid's other skate, and carefully untangles the hockey socks, the shin guards, the garters, until all of Sid's gear is in a pile next to him on the bench and he's stripped down to his leggings. Geno helps Sid stand, taking his weight on the left and together they peel the leggings off too.

He gets Sid's hideous Crocs onto his feet and follows him into the showers, hovering on the periphery. He feels overcome with anxiety that Sid could slip and fall, his stomach tight with concern. Geno barely restrains himself from gathering Sid into his arms before he's dried off, his arms coming around him before the towel has even hit the floor. Sid fits against his chest, and it feels right to have him there, as ridiculous as it is to be standing in the middle of the change room, Sid stark naked and Geno hugging him like, like—

" _Sid_ ," Geno says.

Sid smiles up at him. "Can you take me home?"

The tenderness makes everything feel urgent for a moment, Geno reaching for him, smiling back. But Geno realizes the feeling isn't what's new, just the sense of urgency. It's like Sid's broken in hat, comfortable and worn in all the right places. Or like Sid's cup. "Always, Sid," Geno says, pressing a kiss to his cheek, trying and failing to keep his giggle to himself. They stand there smiling stupidly at each other until Sid shivers.

"Dress you too? So much help Sid!" 

***

Geno gets them to their first playoff berth in five years. But he can't get them any further. They go down 1-4. They were 3-1 against Ottawa in the regular season, but at least it isn't a sweep. Game 5 is a shutout loss, and that stings. If a reporter had asked him which of them would be more upset if they didn't make it to the second round, Geno would not have picked Sid. Sid had a goal in each of the first 3 games, _six shots_ in Game 5, and four in Game 4. No one can say he didn't show up. 

Sid is already drunk when he stumbles into Geno and Talbo's room in Ottawa and goes straight to the minibar. He leans into Geno's hand on his shoulder (it's obviously doing more to keep him from falling over than he'd probably like to admit), but doesn't let Geno drag him into the bed until he's retrieved several little bottles of vodka.

" _You_ can't say you not work hard," Geno says sternly, pulling him closer and tucking him up under his chin. Sid takes an awkward swig from the tiny bottle and hands it off to him. 

Sid sighs. "You got us here, but I couldn't—"

"Is okay, Sid. I'm here, not go anywhere. We get again next year." Geno knows this like he knew he had to play hockey; like he knew he had to play with Sid in the NHL; like he knew Sid was it the first time he made Sid laugh.

"You are, aren't you?"

"Yes, Sid, I'm just say," Geno says, and he can't help it if he sounds fond and a little exasperated. Sid tilts his head back to look at him, and Geno wants to look at Sid looking at him forever.

"That means everything." Sid grimaces, because hates when he sounds like a bland, meaningless fucking soundbite without a reporter in his face. "I don't know what I would do without you."

"Don't have have to. Always here." Geno touches his chin gently, kisses Sid until he smiles. Sid is too drunk to fuck, but they make out on the bed and Geno enjoys holding Sid, trailing his fingers down his back and through his hair.

"You're not allowed to die," Sid says, suddenly.

"Okay, Sid, I'm promise. I'm cancel skydiving in July."

"Oh my _god_." Sid gropes for a pillow and hits Geno with it. They grapple, spill the vodka they never capped, and tumble off the bed. They land in a heap, but Sid's ass breaks their fall. They're breathless and giggling, and Geno gropes Sid's ass just to be sure it's fine. It's very fine. "Our insurance would never let you go skydiving." 

Geno rubs his nose against Sid's cheek, presses a kiss to the corner of his mouth, and says quietly, "But I'm not go because you ask, not because they say no."

**Author's Note:**

> Title is from a Christina Aguilera song.
> 
> Thanks to M. for the IRL beta and handholding.
> 
> The Slippery Mermaid really is a sushi place in Sewickley, although I'm not 100% certain it existed in 2006.


End file.
